UK Visa Guide For Indian Applicants

The UK is among the most popular touristdestinations in the world. People from all over the world visit the UK to see and experience its rich culture and history. But before planning your next vacation to the United Kingdom, it is very important to know about the procedure for UK Visa.

There are numerous types of visas that one can obtain for the UK visit. Depending on the purpose of your visa, you are granted a visa for a limited period of time by the UK Embassy or Consulate.

Thus, it is very important for one to know about the visa type and requirements before actually applying for it.

1) Business Visa - A business visa is offered to the people who are travelling for the purpose of business meetings, conferences, attending of different scientific, educational or professional convocations, etc. This visa is offered generally for 6 months and the stay is also allowed for 6 months. The total duration of Visa and permit is solely in the hands of UK Embassy or Consulate.

2) Tourist Visa - A Tourist Visa is offered by the UK embassy to the people who are travelling for the purpose of recreation in nature, tourism activities, visiting friends or relatives, medical treatments or activities, etc. The tourist visa for UK is also offered for 6 months, where multiple entries to the UK are allowed.

Once you know what type of Visa to go for, it is very important to know and collect all the supporting documents that are required for UK Visa.

1) Passport – You must have a valid passport with at least 2 blank pages for the stamping purposes. Also, the passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond your period of stay in the United Kingdom.

2) Photos – You need to have 2 recent passport size photographs.

3) Your tour details including all the hotel and flight bookings throughout the journey.

Apart from documentation one needs to know what are the most important things the UK High Commission will look for while verifying the documents -

Financials - The UK high Commission is very particular about the applicants financial status and history. While one submits a bank statement of 6 months transaction the High Commission will verify each and every transaction in it and in case finds any entry that is not genuine the visa might get rejected. The applicant is always suggested to give a declaration if there is any high deposit in the account with a genuine reason.

Strong Professional Ties - One needs to show strong professional ties to their home country while applying for the UK visa. The High Commission might reject the visa of a person who does not have a stable profession on the grounds that the person can be a potential migrant to the UK.

Strong Financial Ties - One needs to declare a good amount of investments in their home country, this helps the applicant to prove to the High Commission that he has enough financial ties to the home country for which he shall return back.

Family Ties - Having your family back here in the home country also is a plus point for the application. One can declare this in the application to increase the chances of visa approval.

Once you know well about the type of visa you want as well as all the documents that are required, you need to apply for a visa through online portal. UK Visa process is simple if you follow all the rules properly. You need to go on the UK Government website for visas and immigration in India and fill up the online form. Also, it is mandatory to pay the application fee of 78 GBP at the time of filling the application form.